Blitz Gundam (Ungraded 1/100 SEED Kit)

[shiyao]

Before I say anything, anyone want to have a crack at how this one was done?

I'll come back and comment later.

[wolfx]

Ungraded? Thought this was the HG 1/100?

Not a model guy...so i dunno..hehe...just air brush it over?

[Stamen0083]

What's so special about it? The kit was painted in the overused, overrated, overdone shaded style. The pose is available as is out of the box.

[shiyao]

Precisely. But I guess you spoil my expriment, to a certain extent. I wanted to prove that an out-of-box kit - without puttying, sanding, etc would still look decent with just an airbrush.

I guess this proves another point though; I've never used an airbrush before and if I've managed to make it look "overrated" on my first try, then any moron with an airbrush can make something look respectable to the lay eye.

[Stamen0083]

Don't get me wrong. The skills to do the shading is not overrated. It's the practice of shading itself. I think it looks bad, yet so many people still like it for some reason I cannot fathom.

But really, you cannot make a kit out of the box with no sanding, puttying, etc... and expect to make it look respectable. When posted online with pictures of low resolution, all flaws are all but gone, but in reality, it still looks bad.

[shiyao]

haha, you're probably right. puttying and sanding are pretty much de rigeur for anyone who's serious about his modelling. but my logic (at least for the time being) is "minimal effort, maximum result". i've identified this Optimal Modelling Balance Point to be at - out-of-box + airbrushing (maybe a *bit* of sanding but certainly no puttying).

if i putty, it means that the entire kit has to be painted. this is fine for traditional kits (which i unfortunately do not touch), but for Bandai stuff - not just MG or PG but even these SEED ungradeds - it seems to be a bit of a waste, given the nicely (matter of opinion) pre-molded colors.

don't like the shiny plasticky finish? matte top coat it. ugly seam lines? hide with airbrush. panel lines? go ahead.

of course, to most i might sound insane. in any case, higher resolution pics of the blitz are available at http://www.aiyahwhatever.com . the flaws are more obvious there.